In the Garden
Get down and dirty in the garden

No greens for your smoothie? No problem! Do you have wilting herbs in the fridge? What a waste of money. Try a trendy kitchen garden, it’s easier than people think. There is nothing to it but to do it, the experts say.

“A plan is not necessary. Start small. Grow what you are going to eat in the kitchen,” Susan Brown, Consumer Horticulture Agent for New Hanover County, North Carolina Cooperative Extension, suggests.

By following a few simple steps and making the right choices for your garden, you will be harvesting tender greens in a couple months.

Photo by Pasha Krise

1. It’s all about the SOIL!

“A beginner gardener needs to start from the ground up,” Brown says. The soil is the foundation for any plant growth, including; annuals (plants that only grow for one season) and perennials (plants that come back each year.)

2. Step away from the hoe; novice gardeners should start with containers or an easy-to-build raised bed.

“It can take years to build the soil so it retains moisture and encourages microbial activity when gardening in the ground,” Brown says.

Brown and LaMar both suggest that beginners use containers or raised beds.

“Use well-draining containers,” LaMar recommends. Without proper aeration and drainage, the plants can get root rot, a soil borne disease or fungus, she says. Drainage is optimal in a simple raised bed built from four pieces of untreated wood.

Photo by Pasha Krise

3. You’ve got the container, you’ve got the soil. All that is missing is the plants!

A gardener can “direct sow” seeds or plant “transplants”, which are already started before they get to their growth destination. Some seeds, like root vegetables, should always be directly sown in their final dirt home. Other plants, such as tomatoes, thrive in a garden once they’ve been nurtured as a seedling and ready to transplant.

“Newbies should wait for healthy transplants,” LaMar suggests. “Adapt to four to five plants at a time.”

She also recommends a simple herb garden and swears by oregano as a great container plant. Oregano is a woody perennial that will overtake the neatest of gardens with its spread. “A lot of people use it in various types of cooking.”

“Grow what you eat,” LaMar stresses.

Also recommended for spring planting are cool weather crops, such as lettuce, kale, swiss chard and spinach. When harvesting leafy greens, pick the outer leaves and the innermost leaves. “Never cut off more than one-third of the foliage,” LaMar warns. “Once you cut it off, that’s the end of the plant.”

Brown maintains that plant choice is a predominately important factor in successful gardening. “Start with easier plants first and get some experience behind you before you try more challenging plants,” she recommends.

4. Timing is everything when it comes to the garden.

Plants are fussy and are subjective to the “Zone” in which they are planted. Brown and LaMar are garden experts on separate coasts and both maintain the importance of zone-based planting advice.

LaMar suggests using the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to determine your planting zone. Most seed packets and transplants have Zone information on the label, stating when it safe (warm enough) to plant them.

Another great resource for all things gardening, including when to plant, is the local cooperative extension office, Brown recommends.

Photo by Pasha Krise

5. Keep them alive!

Plants are basic; they need sun, water and food (fertilizer).

“Plant conditions vary based on the type of plant you are planting,” Brown says. Each plant or seed packet will be labelled with its sun needs.

To determine just how much water a plant needs, or if its deficient or being overwatered, LaMar says the “finger test”. “Put your finger in the soil. If it is wet up to the second knuckle, no need to water.” Overwatering is a big mistake, she says. Watering too much will wash away nutrients and rot the roots.

6. The final step is the most delicious; harvest and feast!

Heed the picking advice from the master gardeners and don’t cut the entire plant if you want continual grown (as with greens and herbs.) You only have one shot with other plants, like carrots and beets. Once you pull them, their next stop is your stomach.

Remember, Brown says, “Failures in the garden can be learning experiences and each year can bring different challenges but don't give up!”

Incorporating plants into your interior design is a great way to add life and beauty to your home. Nothing can breathe life into a room quite like a flowering plant or bouquet of fresh flowers. Botanicals not only add a burst of color, but they also add fragrance. Using trending colors, like Pantone’s Color of the Year is an instant way to upgrade your home. The color that sets the tone in the fashion industry this year is Living Coral, a vibrant yet mellow shade that warms up your surroundings. Consider these five florals to incorporate Pantone’s Color of the Year into your home.

‘Clementine Salmon Rose’ Columbine

Columbine is a unique coral-colored plant features interesting shaped blooms. This sturdy stemmed flower offers double blooms and would look great on top of a dresser or side table. Place a pot of Columbine in a shady spot that doesn’t get too hot. If you decide to transplant a potted flower outside this spring, make sure you plant it in soil with plenty of drainage. You may also want to mix some compost into the soil. Since it’s a perennial and common native flower, it will flourish year after year.

‘Salmon Pearl’ Tulip

Add a touch of Living Coral color to a bedroom with a Salmon Pearl colored tulip in a bud vase. Its light pink hue and coral petaled edges give the room a soothing feeling. You could also place them in an entryway or on a sofa table to accent the Living Coral within the room as well.

‘Coral Knock Out’ Rose

Whether in a vase or potted as a shrub, roses never disappoint. The Coral Knock Out Rose is part of a new line that offers saturated color. Plant this variety outdoors and then bring in cuttings for the kitchen or master bedroom. These roses will add a touch of elegance to any room. The plants can grow up to 4 feet tall and wide outdoors making them an excellent choice if you want to add some Living Coral to your yard. With proper care, these roses will continue to bloom in your garden for years.

‘Toucan Coral’ Canna

If you’re looking for a coral flower that would do well in a bathroom, look no further than this Canna Lily in ‘Toucan Coral’. Known for tolerating heat and humidity, Canna Lilies will stand up to the conditions of any bathroom. This long blooming plant will reach about 2 feet tall when planted indoors. You do need a bathroom that gets sunlight for this plant to thrive. This plant is also a good option for smaller backyards and a great choice for those tighter spaces within your home as well.

‘Belle of Barmera’ Dahlia

This beautiful flower offers single blooms that would look great on a kitchen counter or dining table. Dahlias in the ‘Belle of Barmera’ shade do well in containers. The flower offers large single blooms that pack a punch of color to any room. We love the stunning look of dahlias with their ragged edges that resemble a mix of carnations and roses.

Pantone’s Color of the Year is an easy one to incorporate into your home and into your landscape. When you’re ready to change your inside decor, all these will spruce up your garden and add curb appeal to your home. You'll find the Living Coral hue in many florals as well as plenty of home décor. Add one or all these five florals to incorporate the Pantone color of the year into your home.

The main thing is to keep them happy. Here’s an easily doable checklist to keep your chickens happy and healthy.

Chickens needs fresh water every day. When the temperature drops, they require extra water to stay hydrated. Periodically check to make sure the water has not frozen or use an electric heated chicken waterer. If you use electricity, for safety reasons make sure the extension cords are heavy-duty outdoor cords, not light-duty indoor cords. The water should be kept outside as chickens tend to upset the waterers and that makes for wet bedding.

Moisture is a killer to chickens. The coop must be kept dry or the chickens can easily get respiratory diseases. When the bedding gets very soiled, change it. Plain straw tends to get messy and slippery with chicken poop faster than shavings. I use 4 or more inches of cedar or pine shavings with a thick layer of straw on top. I use this combo in their nesting boxes as well.

Heat lamp in their coop? Only if it’s below freezing. Chickens will clump up on the roosts and in the nesting boxes to keep each other warm. They’re good at that! If a heat lamp is used, make sure that fresh air can circulate through the coop as this discourages diseases. Keep wind from blowing in the coop, but have some circulation going from the south side of the coop, if possible.

Extra food, especially protein, when it’s cold keeps their little furnaces going. Consider cooking up some ground meat or scramble some eggs to give to them. I always offer warm protein when it’s extra cold. Hang a big cabbage outside above the ground to give them something to do and prevent boredom.

Chickens don’t like to walk about in the snow, so throw down a thick layer of straw for them to encourage them to go outside and take in the fresh air.

My favorite chicken care book:Recipe For Raising Chickens by Minnie Rose Lovgreen was one of the very first books I read on chicken care. I fell in love with the delightful Minnie Rose and chickens directly after reading the words on the cover, “The main thing is to keep them happy.” Minnie Rose was born in 1888 in England and emigrated to Montreal in 1912. She was to board the Titanic, but its sailing time was delayed, so she traded in her ticket for another ship. Talk about fate! She moved to Bainbridge Island, WA in 1920, married Danish born Leo Lovgreen. Leo worked on a dairy farm and together they saved until they could build their own dairy.

Her simple yet effective advice on keeping chickens is not only a charming read, but incredibly informative. The beauty part of this book is that it’s both easy and fun to read and it was written by a woman who kept chickens for decades and spent an infinite amount of hours observing their behavior and needs. Her wise advice on keeping chickens healthy still serves today.

So there you have it — a recipe for keeping your chickens healthy and happy during the winter months!. See you around the chicken coop!

You may already know that I live in the Central Valley of California. It hardly ever gets below freezing here and it has been particularly true this winter. So far it has gotten just to 32 degrees but not below. This is completely the opposite of points farther east and what I've experienced visiting my sister who lives outside Denver on the high plains. It's a blizzard out there and homegrown fresh greens are impossible unless you have a perfect green house set up. Unfortunately perfect green house set-ups are beyond most people but fresh greens are not because you can grow them on your kitchen counter. My favorite kind are sunflower sprouts.

I first had these easy to grow and tasty greens when I visited my daughter in Santa Cruz around Christmas time a couple years ago. We always eat at a vegetarian restaurant in Capitola called Dharma's. It's all vegetarian and they give you huge portions. When I go I always have the green salad and Kitcheree soup. On top of the salad you will find a giant pile of sunflower sprouts. You won't find sunflower sprouts in every supermarket unless you have a specialty store nearby and who needs to buy them anyway? If you grow your own you're assured that they will be sanitary and there's no possibility of salmonella.

What you need:

75% coconut coir and 25% earthworm castings or a mix of potting soil and perlite

leftover cinnamon roll tray with clear lid from the bakery or any container and plastic wrap

Method:

Mix equal parts perlite and potting soil or use the coconut coir and earthworm castings.

Spread about 2 inches deep of this mix in your tray.

Spread a single layer of the seeds on the soil.

Sprinkle another 1/2" deep of the mix over the seeds. Moisten with water.

Cover with the tray top or plastic wrap and put in a safe place where the kiddies or the cats who haven't been counter trained can't reach it.

Check every day for a week and moisten as necessary. Nature will do her job and in a couple days you'll start to see sprouts.

In a week you'll have sprouts to clip off above soil level to put on your salad. If there are any seeds hulls clinging to the sprouts you can wait until they drop off naturally or you can very gingerly pull them off the leaves. Be careful not to break the leaf or pull the sprout out of the ground. If the hull won't budge leave it be.

The sprouts won't grow anymore after you clip them off. Just clean the soil off the roots and you can start all over again with the same soil. Just be aware that the roots will be embedded in to the soil and will take a bit of shaking to separate them. The sprouts are sweetest when they are fresh. You don't even really need to wash them as you know exactly what went on to them as they grew. Nothing!

Food grade sunflower seeds can be found at Sprout People. In case you have a Whole Foods nearby I found a small packet of black oil sunflower seeds in the seeds sprouting section.

As Spring approaches for most of us, it's time to dive into the wonderful world of starting seeds. When you're a beginner gardener, starting seeds can seem like a daunting task. Maybe you've only purchased transplants up to this point in your gardening journey, and are only dipping your toes into starting seeds this season.

While the process isn't hard, there are certainly a lot of mistakes you can make if you're not paying attention. In this piece, I'm going to go over six of the mistakes I feel are most commonly made by beginner gardeners so you can have a healthy, thriving batch of seeds this Spring!

Photo by alikaj2582 via Adobe Stock

You're Not Giving Them Enough Light

In a young seedling's life, light is the number one resource they need. The seed itself will provide them with enough nutrition to grow and hopefully you're giving them enough water. Where most beginners go wrong is providing their delicate seedlings with too little light.

Your seedlings are starving for light in the beginning of their life, and simply placing them on a south-facing window often isn't enough to cut it. It's practically essential to supplement your natural light with an indoor grow light that you set on a timer for 14 hours on, 10 hours off per day. By doing this, you avoid causing legginess in your seedlings, which weakens the seedling overall and likely means it won't do well when transplanted into your garden.

You're Not Watering Correctly

Once you're sure that light isn't an issue, make sure you know how to properly water your seedlings. Before germination, the simplest way to water is with a mister, directly on the top of your seed starting trays. Watering cans tend to be a bit too aggressive of a stream of water, so avoid unless you buy one that has a broken-up water stream.

A more effective strategy, especially once your seedlings have germinated, is to bottom-water. With this method, you're using capillary action to draw water up through the soil to your plants' roots. All you need to do is add water to the bottom of the tray your seedling inserts are in, and let physics do the work!

The Temperature Isn't Right

Seeds aren't dead...they're dormant. And one of the major triggers that starts the germination process is the temperature of your soil. For most seedlings, this means a warmer temperature, because in nature this signals the end of winter and beginning of spring.

Most seeds begin germinating in a temperature range of 45 degrees F to 75 degrees F, though you should look up the specific temperature recommended for the seeds you're starting, or look at the back of the seed packet. If you're starting seeds in a cold area, a seedling heat mat is pretty much crucial. It'll boost the temperature of your soil to an optimal level, causing your seedlings to begin the germination process.

You Planted Too Deep

Seed sowing depth can be confusing and seem a bit arbitrary, but it's quite important for seed starting. some larger seeds like beans or peas have quite a bit of vigor in them and can handle being buried deeper into the soil. They're also larger and need to be planted deeper for full coverage.

Other seeds are quite small and fragile. If planted deeply, they won't have the strength to push their way to the surface to get access to the precious light they need to thrive.

Still other seeds need access to light as a germination signal. With all of these variations, I can't give you a direct recommendation on seed depth except to say that you should adhere to the back of your seed packets as best as possible.

You're Using Non-Sterilized Equipment

Sterile soil and seed starting trays are vital. This is one of the most common mistakes I see, because gardeners are often excited to start seeds and don't go through the proper protocol to make sure no pests or diseases have made their way into the soil or equipment.

Remember, your seedlings are vulnerable in their young age. It's the same as a newborn...you don't want to give them contaminated food or toys to play with! Buying sterilized seed starting mix instead of making your own is a good call as a beginner. To sterilize trays, wash them free of any debris and they spray them with food-grade hydrogen peroxide.

You Didn't Label Your Trays

My final 'mistake' is more of an organization failure. Assuming you've followed these tips, you should have nice and healthy seedlings. But if you didn't label your trays...you might not remember what you planted! To avoid this, I recommend writing down the following for every different type of seed you start:

Plant

Variety

Planting Date

By doing this, you won't need to rely on your memory when your seedlings are grown up and ready to get out into the garden.

I hope these tips help prevent some of the mistakes you make as you venture out into the garden this Spring!

Raised beds are an easy way to grow vegetables as the soil is loose from being aerated, turned and amended with organic matter which improves its texture and nutrients. The spacing in raised beds makes plants grow closer together which creates more shade and the soil loses less moisture and self-mulches. Raised beds are ready earlier in the spring for planting in colder zones.

Photo by Elenathewise via Adobe Stock

Kits to make raised beds can be purchased or you can easily make a wood frame to hold the soil, but it needs to be rot resistant because the wood is in constant contact with moist soil. Wood such as cedar and redwood are resistant to termites and decay. Douglas fir or pine can be used but might only last five years. The beds can extend above the ground from several inches to 12 inches. The beds can be any width and arranged in any design but need to be built so the middle of the beds can be easily accessed.

To make your own beds cut the wood lumber the size of the planned bed, drill 3 holes in the corner boards with a #30 bit and insert 4-inch weather proof dry wall screws. Brackets can be placed on the outside to make it sturdier.

Choose an area in your yard that has at least eight hours of sun. Dig the soil where the raised bed will be placed. Move the bed in line with the dug soil and line the bed with chicken wire if you have underground critters. Fill the bed with a combination of soil, compost, peat moss and fertilizer 8-32-16.

If this is your first-time growing plants in a raised bed start with plants or seeds of tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, radishes and scallions for a fresh home-grown salad.

There are few greater pleasures than feeding friends, family and even your community from your own harvest. Laying the right groundwork can make light work of what might otherwise be a long, hard grind through seasons spent fighting the elements. Using time-honored traditions that harness nature’s habits can make your garden thrive. Here are a few harvest garden design ideas that will make your landscape both beautiful and fruitful.

Plant a Food Forest

Since a forest thrives without tilling, irrigation, weeding, or fertilization, you can use this ancient gardening technique to help your garden succeed. Plant a seven-layered system: Canopy trees (Pecans, Walnuts, Chestnuts) at the northern end of your garden, flanked by fruit trees to the south. Next, come your shade-tolerant fruiting shrubs (gooseberries, guava, elderberry), followed by vines ( kiwi, grapes, passionfruit) which can climb fences, arbors, or trees that are tall enough not to get smothered. Put herbaceous plants (aromatic herbs, artichokes, asparagus) alongside groundcovers (strawberries, nasturtiums.) Many of the edible herbs will also repel destructive insects. Finally, the rhizosphere or root-crops (sweet-potato, yacon) add the finishing touches to your forest. Each successive layer is planted south of the taller layer before it.

Picking plants that are appropriate to your climate is key to your food forest’s success. Do your planting in the winter when trees and vines are available as bare-root, dormant plants. While this type of garden is built on perennial plants, annual vegetable crops can be planted around the edge of your food forest as well. This is a garden that will take years to fully mature but will give you much joy and bounty along the way.

Maximize Space with a Keyhole Garden

A keyhole garden is a round, raised bed approximately two feet high and seven feet in diameter. One side features an entry point that gives access to a round, caged-off center: the exact shape of an old-fashioned keyhole. Traditionally used to combat poor soils and searing temperatures in Africa, this garden is an excellent fit for states in the southwest, where similar conditions exist. Additionally, keyhole gardens protect plants from being whacked by weed eaters or lawn mowers. This is a type of wicking bed, but with one huge modification: you can compost as you grow in this garden.

The caged area is constructed first on a mound built up with sticks, rocks, or other material, so it forms a high point in the garden. The walls of the raised bed can be constructed with stacked stones, cinder blocks, vertical cedar trunks–your imagination is the limit. Once the bed is built, fill with soil and start planting.

Begin your caged compost with an appropriate ratio of leaves and grass clippings or green food waste, and continue to fill it and water it whenever you water your garden. This source of moisture and nutrients will continuously feed your plants, while the unique shape of the bed gives you access to all of its planting surfaces. A helpful tip: plant your root crops and large single-harvest veggies (i.e. cabbage) toward the center, and vining plants like squash or tomatoes around the edges for access.

Construct an Herb Spiral

A truly stocked herb garden can take up a lot of sunny space, which some gardeners don’t have. An herb spiral is a perfect way to get all the variety you crave in a small footprint. You can build a spiral-shaped bed with stones, blocks, or any material that lets you step it up from flat ground to a peak of about four feet high. If you want irrigation, a small sprayer at the very top and center is perfect–run the line before you fill the bed with soil.

Plant your herbs in the spiral according to mature plant size and water requirements. Your thirstiest, largest plants should be close to the base, while your smaller, more drought-tolerant can be planted higher up. As your herbs grow, water as needed and prune them to ensure they’re not crowding each other out. Done well, this handsome addition to the yard can give you savory, fresh herbs for years to come.

Join the countless other Americans who are making 2019 a record year in gardening and find your way to the harvest garden of your fantasies.

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